Canmore

Went to beautiful Canmore, Alberta this weekend for the Highland Games. We had a great time, saw lots of dancing, piping and drumming, and of course, the heavy sports (caber throwing, hammers etc.).

We went down early Saturday morning so we could do some walking and sight seeing. We went to Nosh, the new(ish) food store, did an olive oil tasting, tried some other foods, and bought some sweet paprika, fancy mustard, and cream of balsamic. When I posted the entry about some of the things we did in B.C., I forgot to include that we had fruit and cream of balsamic vinegar. It's a thicker, sweeter version of balsamic, and was really good over peaches and nectarines from the farmers market, and strawberries from the garden. And of course, now we have our own bottle just in time for winter when there are no peaches, nectarines, or strawberries. Oh well.

We also went to the lavender store (can't remember the name) and bought some herb de Provence, and organic lavender for cooking. Brulee bakery here in Calgary makes really good lavender cookies, and I want to try too.

For lunch on Saturday, we went to Murrieta's. It's a very nice restaurant on the second floor of a building, so you can look down and people watch. Scott had the lamb burger. It came on a bun with grilled tomatoes, caramelized onions, and melted cambazola cheese. I had the chicken brioche, basically a chicken sandwich, with grilled tomatoes and boar bacon. Boar bacon tastes just like regular bacon! My sandwich was pretty good, but a few of the bites had a fishy aftertaste, like the chicken had been cooked next to or in a pan that had previously held fish. Scott liked his lamb, but said they could have used a little less cheese. Both meals came with a spring mix salad that was really nice, and Scott had potato salad which he didn't like because he said the potatoes were still hard. I had fries. We skipped dessert, and went down the road to the candy store for Cola bottles and Swedish berries.

Our very favorite place in Canmore is the Grizzly Paw pub. Canada was playing Russia in the world cup hockey that night, so we were very lucky to snag a table in front of one of the fireplaces that also had a view of the big screen TV. The place was packed, but since we knew we would not be back again this visit, we decided to take our time. To my amazement, they serve Mojitos!!!! I started off with one, while Scott had the flight of light beer (smaller serving of 4 of their beers). He decided that the Grumpy Bear was his favorite, and drank that the rest of our stay. I, of course, wisely stuck with the Mojito. We shared some potato skins to start. I had the beef dip, which wasn't super, and Scott had a chicken wrap with spinach, feta cheese and pepper jelly. About halfway thru the meal we switched. He said his wrap was too spicy, but I loved it. We both had fries and the house salad which was greens with cheese, boiled egg and picked beets. No dessert. Candy, hot tub and beer waiting back at the hotel.

The Highland games just wouldn't be complete if Scott didn't get to try haggis. So he did. He loved it. I didn't try it. I am just not that brave.